What Do your Dreams Mean?

What do your dreams mean? This hasn't been clearlybe.
answered by science yet. It is possible that they areOne common way to induce lucid dreams is to have
a way to exercise the brain and keep it functioninga "trigger" that reminds you that you are dreaming.
efficiently. Some scientists theorize that dreaming is aThis trigger can be any common object you're likely
way to categorize and "file away" things that weren'tto see in a dream. If you choose a clock, for
sufficiently dealt with during the day. This wouldexample, then whenever you see one, you say "I am
explain why daily events so often become a part ofdreaming right now and can do what I want." Once
that nights dreams.this is habit, you are likely to say it when you see a
Dreaming seems to be necessary. In experiments,clock in a dream, thus "waking yourself up" to the
people have been prevented from dreaming by beingfact that you're dreaming. Then you can take control
woken up whenever they started, as evidenced byand have some fun.
their REM or "rapid eye movement," whichDreams Mean A Chance To Solve Problems
accompanies dreaming. This seems to cause mentalI have had a number of good ideas come to me in
distress, although this was often shown in nothingdreams. In fact many of the pages on my web sites
more than increased attempts to dream. Thosestarted out as dreams. To have creative ideas or
woken an equal number of times, but randomly, didn'tsolve problems in your dreams, try some of the
seem to suffer as much.following.
We may need to dream, but we don't know why,1. Do some mental work in the area you want ideas
and we could argue endlessly about the meaning ofor a solution. Think about it, write some notes down,
the content of our dreams. However, despite thisand consider some solutions. This work signals the
essential ignorance about what dreams mean, we dobrain that the topic or problem is important, so it will
know that there are ways we can use our dreams.continue to work on it below consciousness.
A couple examples follow.2. Turn off the alarm clock. If you wake up naturally,
Dreams Mean Entertainmentyou are more likely to remember your dreams.
You may occasionally remember a dream you had3. Keep a recording device or a pen and paper next
that was better than most movies you've seen.to your bed. Note any ideas you have if you wake
Sometimes you may not even want to wake upup in the night, and especially when you first wake
from a dream, because it is so enjoyable. Perhapsup in the morning.
you wish you could have more dreams like these.4. Lay still when you first wake up, and review your
You can, by waking up IN the dream, and takingdreams. This process "sets" them in your mind, so
control. Want to fly over that lake? Or join thatyou won't forget them as easily. You can think back
party? You can direct your dream if you know thaton them later, to search for any useful ideas.
you are in a dream. That is the idea behind lucidThese techniques are not yet scientifically "proven."
dreaming.However, having had lucid dreams, I can say that
Does it work? many swear that they regularly arethey are at least entertaining. Also, having used
conscious and in control during their dreams. I havenumerous techniques to get good ideas from dreams
had more than one dream where I argued with- and always with more success than when I do
someone that we were in a dream (and of coursenothing - I am convinced that there is some value in
proved it by waking up). Without getting into anthis playing with our dreams, whether or not we ever
argument about what consciousness is, it is still easycompletely understand what dreams mean.
to see how much fun such "controlled dreams" might